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16 May 2017, 06:10 AM | #1 |
Master of the @
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: West Sussex, UK
Posts: 1,334
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Backing up notes
I'm a heavy user of Fastmail Notes. Very useful for keeping day to day notes and other stuff. Available easily via the Fastmail app via standard browsers, IOS and Android.
How can I ensure all my notes are backed up correctly? I thought Notes would be part of the IMAP structure but I can't find a relevant folder. The Fastmail help system does not appear to give an easy explanation (lots of chat about Apple). Links I could find: https://www.fastmail.com/help/#notes https://blog.fastmail.com/2015/12/24...-notes-are-go/ |
16 May 2017, 03:58 PM | #2 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: May 2003
Location: mostly in Thailand
Posts: 3,095
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If you are using an external IMAP backup utility (like IMAPsize) the Notes folder shows up. It is hidden in the FastMail web interface (and also by Apple's Mail client) but should, I think, show up in all other mainstream IMAP mail clients.
If you use FastMail's Restore feature, the Notes folder shows up in the restored folder hierarchy if there were any notes deleted in the last 1-2 weeks. The way it all works is pretty confusing, but it is possible to find a viable backup and restore procedure once you understand what is going on. |
16 May 2017, 05:05 PM | #3 |
Intergalactic Postmaster
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Irving, Texas
Posts: 8,929
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Using Fastmail Notes with an IMAP client
The "Notes" folder shows up in Thunderbird, and you can subscribe to it. If you have multiple Fastmail accounts and Notes xxx local folders:
Code:
X-Mozilla-Keys: From: Bill <LastModified @ FastmailAccount.domain> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" X-Mailer: MessagingEngine.com Webmail Interface Subject: Note 2 X-Universally-Unique-Identifier: ef9eac9e-7717-8231-a0e8-2c1eftyu2c1b Reply-To: Bill <OriginallyCreated @ domain.xxx> Date: Tue, 16 May 2017 02:53:27 -0400 X-Uniform-Type-Identifier: com.apple.mail-note again a test |
16 May 2017, 06:49 PM | #4 |
Master of the @
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: West Sussex, UK
Posts: 1,334
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Thanks Tim and Bill.
I use MailStore on my main machine (not there at mo) so will check if the hidden folder is seen there. All very confusing. Can't understand why the folders are hidden - unless Fastmail is simply trying to protect ourselves from ourselves. Ed |
16 May 2017, 08:51 PM | #5 |
Essential Contributor
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Dover, NH, USA
Posts: 315
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I've wondered about backing up my notes as well...
I figured I would just copy and paste them into text file(s) then store them in an encrypted archive... |
16 May 2017, 09:29 PM | #6 |
Master of the @
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: West Sussex, UK
Posts: 1,334
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Since I posted earlier on I have now checked in Mailstore and see that the 'Notes' folder is there - with 142 notes.
So all good. However the Fastmail documentation is woefully confusing on this matter. @bill, I vote that you volunteer to help Fastmail on their documentation. Having worked in many different types of orgs the recurring theme in all of them is the poor documentation for processes, structures and software. It seems it is simply more sexy developing such things rather than writing them up. I've certainly been guilty of this. Ed |
17 May 2017, 01:13 AM | #7 |
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Location: Dover, NH, USA
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17 May 2017, 04:03 AM | #8 | |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: May 2003
Location: mostly in Thailand
Posts: 3,095
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Quote:
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17 May 2017, 11:10 AM | #9 |
Intergalactic Postmaster
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Irving, Texas
Posts: 8,929
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I will try sending a message to Fastmail staff I know and see if they will improve the documentation. It's possible that the current Notes design is thought of as an interim solution, and if there is a plan to do more with Notes they might not want to create documentation which will be changed again "soon". Notice that I put "soon" in scare quotes, because our outside view of a priority might look totally different from inside their organization. For example, I don't think that the big FastMail server move last week was public, and if I were them I wouldn't publicize it until it was complete for security reasons. I'm sure there were many person-hours spent in preparing and executing and cleaning up after that move. I'm talking about software clean-up, not sweeping the floor.
My experience with FastMail is that their hearts are in the right place. They are very involved with the open source professional aspect of email systems, which doesn't excite very many people who post here but makes them important in the industry. Their focus is getting things right from the ground up so that their service will be as reliable and fast as possible to meet future needs. They worked very hard on mobile clients because so many users were moving away from desktop computers. If they think that Notes are important for future users they will be interested in getting the documentation right. Bill |